By Michael Swanger and Emily Garrett

You sneak looks at them at stoplights. You turn your head each time you hear their engines roar. Maybe you wish you were that guy or girl — the one on the motorcycle — the fearless, leather-clad outlaw with a 1,400cc machine between your legs and a rebellious spirit to match.

The popularity of motorcycles, in case you haven’t had your home or car windows rattled of late, is on the rise. Once associated only with groups on the fringe of society — Hell’s Angels, racers, rockers, thrill seekers and renegades — motorcycles have raced full throttle into mainstream America. The Motorcycle Industry Council, a non-profit, national trade association created to promote and preserve the U.S. motorcycle industry, reports that sales of two-wheelers — on-highway, off-highway, dual-purpose and scooter — continued to grow in 2006 for the 14th consecutive year. Preliminary estimates on new-unit sales for all brands last year was 1.158 million bikes, a slight increase over 2005 of 1.149 million bikes sold. The MIC lists 1973 as the pinnacle for annual motorcycle sales, when Americans purchased more than 1.5 million bikes. Sales for 1979 topped the 1 million mark, then cooled in the 1980s and early 1990s. Since then sales have spiked.

“Motorcycling is now largely viewed as a respectable form of recreation and transportation,” says MIC President Tim Buche in a written statement. “For the industry, sales for the past five years have been at a great level. Rising fuel prices, increasing highway congestion and parking woes have given more people reason to trade four wheels for two, or dust off the old bike they haven’t touched in years.”

It’s not uncommon to drive down the street and see business executives, women and construction workers riding motorcycles to work. Professionals and middle-income Americans represent the biggest growth in motorcycle sales, but the fastest growing sect of buyers is female. Since 1998, according to the MIC, the number of women riding motorcycles has grown 36 percent to more than 4.3 million. Now one in 10 buyers of new motorcycles is female.

“The more women that ride, the more other women want to,” says Brian Ballinger, sales consultant for Big Barn Harley Davidson (formerly Zook’s) in Des Moines.

In Iowa, 11.3 percent of all bikers are women. That’s about 26,650 licensed female riders out of more than 270,000 total operators in Iowa, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. Statistics also show that two-thirds of female bikers are 45 years or older and that fewer than 3 percent are 25 or younger. Those numbers are comparable for men, too.

“It’s more important than ever for the seasoned veterans of our industry to steer new riders toward making smart, responsible choices when it comes to motorcycling,” Buche says. “And a decade from now, the strength of our business will depend on an emerging generation of riders that we must nurture and develop right now.”

For now, however, the industry relies on older bikers with more money to continue to drive sales. Each year, thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts spend millions of dollars on new bikes and millions of dollars more on accessories to customize their rides.

Though motorcycle enthusiasts yearn for individuality, they also like to congregate with like-minded people. That sense of community can be found in the language they speak, the clothes they wear and the entertainment they seek. For years, local watering holes like Porky’s, Cycle’s Walnut Tap, Hull Avenue Tap and Trophies have catered to bikers. And though Sturgis and Daytona Bike Week are nationally-recognized motorcycle rallies, new local biker events like Bike Down to I-Town in Indianola, Hawgstock in Winterset and various Bike Night events like those in the East Village of Des Moines and surrounding communities are exploding in popularity. This weekend, Wide Open magazine brings its All Motorcycle Ride-In Bike Show and Rally to Prairie Meadows.

Various biker organizations in the Des Moines area vividly illustrate the diversity of the riders, too. Neighborhood and informal clubs are common, but people from all walks of life form motorcycle groups. The Iowa branch of the national organization ABATE (A Brotherhood Aimed Towards Education), for example, works to keep Iowa roads safe for bikers through rider education. The Cycle Disciples, a Christian motorcycle club, organizes rides for anyone who wishes to join, complete with a pre-departure Bible study and the occasional “church crashing.” And Iowa motorcycle rides are also organized for various charities like the Make a Wish Foundation and Toys for Tots, both coming up in August.

“It’s not just buying a bike; it’s buying into a lifestyle,” says Ballinger. “People get on a Harley and it transforms them. It used to be a biker was longhaired and tattooed. Now it’s anyone who wants to feel the freedom of a bike.”

Sharing the road: weekend warriors and rebels

Clad in blue jeans, a long-sleeve T-shirt, leather boots, bandanna and sunglasses, 41-year-old Blake Hanke looks like a wild biker as he cruises on his 2001 Harley Low Rider. But come Monday morning, he’s back at his desk working for American Enterprise (formerly American Republic Insurance Company) in downtown Des Moines. His job in the marketing department might look out of place compared to the resume of a tattooed hellion that many people think of when they hear the familiar rev of an engine, but he is the definition of a growing segment of bikers known as “weekend warriors.”

“It’s something to do to get away, and you can do it whenever you want to,” says Hanke. With his wife in the passenger seat, he spends his leisure time taking in the Iowa countryside, away from the work and the noise, where the only thing he has to pause for is pit stops.

In 1999, Hanke rediscovered his childhood love of motorcycles and became part of Des Moines’ growing population of motorcycle owners. From 2005 to 2006, the number of registered motorcycles in Polk County rose almost 4,000 to 18,020 and according to Kent Chowansky, owner of Radical Cycle, no two bikes or bike owners are alike.

“We have a huge cross section of customers; everyone from the “El Forasteros,” who are like the Hell’s Angels of Des Moines, to doctors and lawyers,” he says.

According to Big Barn Harley Davidson sales manager Greg Gioffredi, there are still some old school bikers, but most people who now buy bikes have always wanted one or are getting one again after their kids have grown.

“We see people come into the store, and they’re scared,” says Gioffredi. “But we talk to them, and they see it’s not as stigmatized as it used to be. There’s less long hair and fewer tattoos. But then, sometimes these people end up coming in later with tattoos and they’ve turned bad ass even though it originally intimidated them.”

Diverse riders with diverse lifestyles tend to buy different kinds of bikes. Chowansky identifies three types of riders: the bar hopper, the bike-to-work man and the hardcore cross-country type. Each prefers a different bike. The white-collar bar-hopper with some extra cash wants something fancy with lots of chrome. Riding to work requires a more practical bike, and those who see the world from the back of a “hawg” need their bike to be a home-away-from-home ride, complete with lots of shocks, saddlebags and a radio.

In addition to these functional differences, most bikers customize their purchases to match their styles. The staffs of Radical Cycle and Church of Choppers in Des Moines do everything from paint jobs to building bikes from the ground up.

“You can go to Sturgis, where there are half a million people and look down Main Street with lines and lines of bikes and there’s no two bikes that are the same. People express themselves through their bikes,” says Chowansky of Radical Cycle.

Jeff Wright, owner of Des Moines’ Church of Choppers, and his friend David “Chopper Dave” Freston of Long Beach, Calif., say their love of motorcycles and their custom bikes and parts businesses are an extension of their anti-establishment rebellion.

“Motorcycles or choppers became the logical progression for me from punk rock,” says Freston, 37, who rides with Wright to motorcycle events in Davenport and LaCrosse, Wisc., each year. “It was the next ‘fuck you’ thing. It just clicked.”

Wright, 41, agrees. He grew up on motorcycles, bought his first Harley in 1994 and a year later competed in a 500-mile race that stretched from Las Vegas to Reno, Nev. “I just love motorcycles and everything about them,” he says.

Both men, however, have found a way to make a living from their hobby. Wright, a member of the Sinners [a nationally respected group of bike builders] opened Church of Choppers seven years ago. In addition to half-builds and paint jobs, he builds two bikes a year from the ground up. Two years ago, actor Brad Pitt bought his 1966 Shovelhead after seeing it in a magazine. His white 1976 FLH, which he just finished and rode for 4,200 miles in about a 10-day period, will be featured in an upcoming issue of Bike Works magazine. He also rides a 2006 Triumph Speed Triple.

“Right now I’m working on a bike for a guy who wants to take it to Sturgis,” he says. “I promised him a bike that would stand out in the crowd.”

Freston also builds custom bikes, but the majority of his time is spent making custom bike parts for his Chopper Daves Casting Co. There’s a demand for his cast aluminum foot pegs, air cleaners and tail lights. When he isn’t busy working on bikes, he’s writing about them for international magazines like The Horse and Old School Rod or appearing on television shows like the Discovery Channel’s “Monster Garage.”

“I wouldn’t know how to live if I wasn’t working on bikes or riding them,” he says.

Both men also detest weekend warriors and the softening image of bikers.

“I stay as underground as possible,” says Freston, whose custom builds start at $25,000.

“It’s just like bands. Ninety-percent play covers and 10 percent write their own songs,” says Wright, whose bikes start at $15,000. “That’s what separates us. We don’t take orders; we do what we want to do. I don’t want to deal with weekend warriors.”

Brad Ross, co-founder of Bike Down to I-Town, a bike rally held the third Friday of each month that draws as many as 6,000 riders to downtown Indianola, is just the opposite. When he and three other Indianola businessmen banded together in 2005 to create Bike Down to I-Town, they wanted to make it a safe, clean, family-friendly atmosphere that would attract bikers of all skills. The free event includes live music, food, bike displays and a “pleasure ride.”

“We see how this culture has changed, and how it’s no longer just for bad dudes riding their motorcycles,” he says. “It’s also about business people and your average guy looking for a little R&R. Even the locals who don’t ride like it because it’s an inexpensive place to go and see people.”

A longtime motorcycle enthusiast, Ross rode bikes as a youngster, stopped riding when he started a family and returned to riding after his daughters were grown. “These days I ride with my spouse,” he says. “The cell phone is gone. It’s quiet and peaceful. It’s stress-free.”

He also says more people are discovering the gratification of riding a motorcycle. “There’s an immediate satisfaction,” he says. “It takes a small space in the garage. You can crank the thing out of the driveway and take a chill.”

Ross, 50, says people also like the idea of having an alter ego once they get on their bike. “The industry has done an outstanding job of selling accessories to customize bikes so not everyone has the same product,” he says. “At our event, the professionals get to dress in leather and ride their bike to Indianola. They think they’re John Wayne. They walk outside their daily lives and culture with a leather jacket, a $25 cigar and a beer.”

The Indianola event also attracts serious bikers, too. Riders from the Midwest, as well as states like South Dakota and Virginia, have visited. On Friday, a group of more than 120 riders from Iowa City are expected to attend. Ross says riders like the idea of traveling county roads and four-lane highways to get to the event.

“Geographically, we’re a good fit,” he says. “A lot of places have a Bike Night, but people don’t have the chance to ride.”

Though organizers haven’t measured it, Ross says the economic impact of Bike Down to I-Town is significant. He says local merchants finance the event and they see a return in their investment. Proceeds raised from the event are then donated to the community.

“They’re the ones financially helping this grow,” he says. “This has become the community’s event, not ours. That’s a good thing because they see their participation.”

Community, Ballinger says, is a big part of the appeal of motorcycles and the brotherhood that comes with it.

“I think it has to do a lot with the history of motorcycles and people riding together. It’s a together thing,” says Ballinger. “You meet hundreds of new people, new friends. It’s gotten so that it takes me a long time to get through the grocery store. You don’t get that from buying a Range Rover.

“People look at you. It’s nice to be in the spotlight sometimes. Some people have never had that opportunity. I guess it’s hard to explain till you actually experience it. It’s like you’re a whole new person when you’re on that bike.” CV

Bikers roll into Prairie Meadows

Throughout Saturday and Sunday, Prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino will be overloaded with motorcycles of every kind as Wide Open magazine brings its All Motorcycle Ride-In Bike Show and Rally to Altoona.

Admission, $40, includes you and your bike through the door for the entire weekend. Registration will take place Saturday, from 8 to 11 a.m., with judging from noon to 5 p.m. The 78 finalists will be announced at 6 p.m., but will not know what place they took until Sunday. Prizes will include a cash pay out for the top three spots in each category and the top three Best of Show winners will be featured in the next issue of Wide Open magazine.

The event will feature profiled Discovery Channel bike builder Kim Suter, from KC Creations on hand signing autographs and displaying his newest road warriors. There will also be a large number of builders and vendors on hand from coast to coast and some eye candy courtesy of the Wide Open calendar girls, as well as Playboy model and former Miss Sturgis 2005-06, Debbi Davis.

A cash raffle will be held throughout the weekend, with one winner receiving a two-page feature in Wide Open magazine. Also on Sunday, all military, firefighters and law enforcement get in for free with their ID.

Keep informed about all of the weekend events at www.wideopencycle.com or http://www.prairiemeadows.com.

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